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(No Model!) G. W. FRIED & W. P. WEABER.

SHIFTING THILL COUPLING. I

No. 339,636. Patented Apr. 13, 1886.

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ran STATES PATENT GEORGE \V. FRIED AND WILLIAM F. VEABER, OF ALLEN'IOVVN, PA.

SHIFTING THlLL-COUPLlNG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.339,636, dated April Application filed January 2, 1886. Serial No. 187,429. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GEORGE W. FRIED and WILLIAM F. XVEABER, citizens of the United States, residing at Allentown, in the county of Lehigh and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Shifting Thin-Couplings, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Ourinvention relates to an improvement in shifting thill-couplings for sleighs; and it consists in the peculiar construction and combination of devices that will be more fully set forth hereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of our invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same, taken on the line at w of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken onthe line 3 y of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of the bearing-springs.

A represents the draft-bar of a sleigh, which is here shown attached to the front ends of the runners. Projecting from the ends and the center of the draft'bar are brackets B, which have eyes I) in their outer ends and rearwardly-projecting shanks b,that extend transverse- Screw-threads are formed on the rear ends of these shanks to receive nuts I), that clamp the brackets to the draftbar.

Secured to the bracketsB is a hollow tubular sleeve, 0, that extends parallel with the draft'bar.

D represents the thills,the rear ends of which are provided with the usual draft-irons, d d, and the cross-bar of the thills has also a draftiron, d", attached to its center. The eyes of the draft-irons d and d fit on the sleeve Gand are free to slide thereon, and thus hinge the shafts to the said sleeve.

Secured to the eye of the draft-iron d is an extensible rod, 6, that enters the bore of the sleeve 0 from the right-hand end thereof and extends for a considerable distance in the sleeve.

F and F are oppositelyextending bearingsprings, the inner ends of which are attached to the front side of the draft-bar near the center thereof. The outer ends of these springs bear against the sleeve 0, near the ends of the latter. The springs F and F are also provided on their upper edges with thumb-holds f, by means of which their outer ends may be pressed rearwardly away from the sleeve G.

hen the shafts are in line with the sleigh, as shown in solid lines in Fig. 1, the spring F bears against the inner side of the eye of the draft-iron d and keeps the shafts in that position.

By releasing the spring F from the draftiron cl the shafts may be moved laterally toward the left out of line with the sleigh, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and are held in this position by the spring F, which engages with the draft-iron d A shaft-coupling thus constructed is cheap and simple, and permits the shafts to be shifted to the left, which is very desirable for sleighs.

Having thus described our invention, we claim The combination of the tube or sleeve C. secured to the sleigh or vehicle, the shaft having the draftirons hinged on the tube, and movable laterally thereon, and the spring-detents F, secured at one end rigidly to the axle of the sleigh or vehicle, and having their other ends sprung or projected outward, so as to come in contact with the tube or sleeve 0 and catch against the draft-irons, and thumb-holds f, provided on the outer or free ends of the de tents, so as to withdraw them from engagement with the draft-irons, substantially as described.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto affixed our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

his

chosen W. FRIED.

mark. WILLIAM F. wnannn.

W'itnesses:

G. W. ENGELMAN, "WILSON J. HURTZELL, 

